When LSA alum Mildred Sommer died at age 100 last year, she left a few clues of her dedication to the University. On a bedside table in her nursing home she kept her University diploma and the invitation to her graduation.

And in her will, she left a $5.2 million gift to the University's College of Literature, Science and the Arts to fund fellowships for LSA graduate students.

Maryanne George, spokeswoman for LSA Development, Marketing and Communications, said Sommer's donation was "the bulk of her estate." She said Sommer made sporadic gifts to the University throughout her life, but none of them exceeded $500.

During her time at the University, Sommer was a member of Kappa Delta sorority and participated in the Italian club. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1928.

Sommer returned to her parents' home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio after graduating, enrolled at then-Western Reserve University and received a master's degree in library science in 1936. She worked for the Case Western Reserve University library system until she retired in 1961.

She gave "modestly and consistently" to the Case Western libraries, Case Western spokeswoman Amy Raufman said in an e-mail interview.

Dennis Rogers, her cousin, said in a written statement that Sommer spent little on herself and invested wisely.

"She obviously really liked her days at U-M," Rogers said. "She thought of U-M as an excellent place of learning."